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The St. Louis Cardinals are finally starting to look like the team many expected them to be—and Lars Nootbaar believes their early offensive outbursts are a big reason why. On Sunday, the Cardinals powered their way to a 6-1 win over the Washington Nationals, completing a three-game sweep and extending their winning streak to eight games, tying the longest in MLB this season. Nootbaar got things going quickly, launching a 108.1 mph leadoff home run to the second deck in right field, his sixth of the season and seventh career leadoff blast.
“I saw four heaters and a curveball in that at-bat,” Nootbaar said. “[Gore] is more of a fastball/slider guy to lefties, so it kind of surprised me, but I just tried to get in a good count and put a good swing on the ball.”
St. Louis has now scored in the first three innings in each of their last four games, and Nootbaar says that kind of early damage makes a difference.
“We’ve done some good things with getting production from everybody in the lineup,” he said. “When you add that with run production when guys are in scoring position and scoring early—and obviously, our pitching staff has been unbelievable—it’s a combination of those three things.”
Cardinals continue their hot streak, win 8 straight.
That formula worked again on Sunday. Willson Contreras extended his on-base streak to 23 games with a 406-foot solo homer in the second, while Nolan Arenado added a two-run blast in the eighth to put the game away. Manager Oliver Marmol credited the team’s ability to attack early.
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“Having early offense provides some momentum and confidence in how you go through the game, so being able to attack early has been good for us,” Marmol said.
On the mound, Miles Mikolas continued his recent resurgence, allowing just one run across 5 1/3 efficient innings. It was his fifth straight start going at least five innings and third in that span allowing one run or fewer.
“I felt really good about my start,” Mikolas said. “I thought my fastball command was really good today and [I was] getting that ball down in the zone. We played some great defense, and the bats came alive late in the game.”
The Cardinals’ offense padded the lead late with RBI singles from Yohel Pozo and Victor Scott II, whose 11-game hitting streak is the longest of his career. Scott summed up his approach in three words: “Maturity, confidence and growth.”
Despite early-season struggles and heavy trade speculation, St. Louis is now 22-19, just a game back of the NL Central-leading Cubs. With strong starting pitching, timely hitting, and a bullpen beginning to find its groove, the Cardinals appear to be trending in the right direction.
“We’ve played some really good ball lately, and it’s fun to be up,” Mikolas said.
